Shelton Candidate Profile: Carl Rizzo For Board Of Education

SHELTON, CT — The 2019 municipal election is heating up in Shelton and there are plenty of races with candidates eager to serve in elected office. The top of the ticket race is longtime Mayor Mark Lauretti versus Democratic challenger John Harmon, but there are also many other contested races for Board of Education, Board of Alderman and others.

Shelton Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

Carl Rizzo is running for Board of Education as a Republican. He works in the medical field including a stint at GE and is currently at Hitachi Healthcare Americas.

Are you running for office in Shelton? Contact Rich Scinto at rich.scinto@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Shelton Patch.

The single most pressing issue facing our town/district is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Determining the proper level of funding that we request from the BOA and are we getting the best value from the money we spend. When I speak with parents and taxpayers they explain to me that they support education and it is a very high priority. I have not heard from anyone who would not agree with that. However, some parents may not understand the value their students are already receiving. The difficult task is seeing the facts through the fog of election season drama, newspaper articles and lawsuits. On top of these factors you also have a detailed budget that needs to be deciphered and vetted.

Some items that would be considered part of a BOE budget in other towns are not part of the BOE budget in Shelton. These items benefit our students greatly and are paid generously by the city. These items also make it more difficult to make an apples to apples comparison with other towns. It will be the Board's responsibility to make sure that the students, teachers, administrators and the tax payers are getting the proper resources when you compare these properly adjusted values to surrounding cities. My hope is that the new BOE will facilitate a higher degree of visibility and will aide in the collaboration between the Mayor's office, the BOA, the BOE and the school administration. With this visibility we will be able to answer the question of "are we getting a good value" for the money we spend in our education system and are we providing the proper amount of resources.

My hope is that my current relationship with the Mayor and the Board of Aldermen will only help this situation. I have respect for what they have done in the past and the principles that guide their decision making. I believe in compromise and as a board member, will work to restore good faith in the Board's ability to manage the funds it is allocated smartly.

Demonstrating this, I believe, will result in a greater allocation of resources for programs that could really use it. We all share the common goal of providing the best education for our children.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am bringing a different perspective being from a business background and
understanding what employers are demanding from future graduates.

List other issues that define your campaign platform:

Eliminate pay to participate. Pay to participate is counterintuitive to our goal of encouraging participation in cocurricular activities. These activities are not just about recreation anymore. They are vital to social development, leadership skills, exercise, and a key standout point on college admission applications. These fees discourage and impede full participation, especially
for families struggling to make ends meet. It is also an insult to the many parent organizations that have always supported and subsidized these activities through fundraisers.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

For the last 30 years, I have worked for companies which are demanding and require consistent performance as well as the ability to compromise when working with different groups of people. I also have been involved in Shelton National Little League for 20 years and have been the president of Shelton Travel Baseball for the last four years. In working with co-workers, customers, coaches, parents and players, what always resonates is communication and cooperation.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

From my mother who would say, "Be your own person and don't follow the crowd."

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

If elected I will do the best job that I can for the students of Shelton.